The Negative Effects Of Social Media

Social media has become a part of our life, and no one can imagine living without it. Social media has grown a lot over the several years. Young individuals have always thought that social media is a marvelous piece of technology, but they never think about the negative effects of ‘like’ culture, which contributes to conformity and other negative consequences. The article, The Insidious Evils of ‘Like’ Culture, written by Neil Strauss, tells us about to what people can go to get more “likes.”

According to a recent study by IDC Research, 80% of smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up each morning.

In the article, Liliana Escobar-Chaves and Craig Anderson focus on how youth are spending more time on social media and how that time spent of social media is causing them to bring negative effects to society. The authors go on to explain how the trends in increased social media use is increasing the health risks of obesity, smoking, drinking, unsafe sex and violence. The authors provide an in-depth look into each health risk and provide multiple facts and research studies to help support their claims. These research studies provide a clear and excellent understanding into how the increase in the use of social media can have a negative effect on the health risks they mentioned in the article.

Growing up in the age of internet and being millennials, social media is as natural to the people of today as breathing or drinking water. Social media is a “series of websites and applications that have been designed to allow people to share content and communicate with each other quickly and efficiently” (“What is Social Media, 2017). A few people have a more confined perspective of social media likening it to mean the same as social networking on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. The power of social media is such that, the number of people using it worldwide is expected to reach 2.95 billion by 2020, which is a third of the world’s entire population (Facts, 2017). Social media has been described as being more addictive than even cigarettes and alcohol because it has entered so deeply into the lives of young people that it is almost impossible to stop using it every day (Winefield, Gill, Taylor & Pilkington, 2017). Today, social media can serve as a helping tool in changing a person’s life but at the same time it could also lead to a conflict which might have a negative impact on a person. As summarized by Huppert “Psychological well-being is all about the lives going well. It is a dual combination of feeling good and functioning effectively” (2009, p.137). Social media affects our psychological well-being in many different ways, both positively and negatively. Due to the broad nature of this topic, this essay will focus equally on both the pros and cons

Many students walk around campus with their eyes on their phones checking up on the new trends or pop culture. Is social media affecting college students in a negative way? Yes, their grades drop, become less focused in their daily lives, and social media can make someone less social. When do you see a full classroom with no people on their phone for the whole duration of the class? The answer to that is rare to never happening. Freedom is a huge reason for the amount of people on social media.

A majority of teen’s specifically generation Z have grown up with their faces glued to a screen. As a Millennial myself, I have seen first hand how it has affected my generation. Although social media wasn’t present in every aspect of our lives, it still had an effect on the way we grew up. Even now as time goes on it is affecting each generation more and more. Social media can be a great thing for many people. It helps you stay connected with your family and friends efficiently and quickly. Social media may be a great source of entertainment, but it is also time consuming, when is it too much? Many teens would rather stay in their rooms with a screen lighting up their faces than go out with friends, resulting in isolation.

We all recognize this saying that knowledge is power, but few comprehend the empowering role social media has played. Being on social media, everyone is fed by an unrestricted flow of the information to add to their knowledge bank. Currently, it is undeniable that social media plays the significant role in impacting our culture, politic, economy and the overall view of the world. This is a new view forum that brings individuals from different diversity to exchange ideas, relates to, connect with, and mobilize for a cause, offer guidance, and seek advice. Social media has removed the communication barriers and created decentralized communication means and open the door for all people to have a voice and participate in any topic brought on any social network. The network does not limit anyone. Thus, It fosters collaboration and creativity with the wide range of commentators on the number of issues i.e. the education, economy, race, health, politics, and relationships.

Social media is globally recognized as a phenomenon that has taken over the internet. Some view social media as a counterproductive platform that will lead to societal disintegration. Others think it empowers users and can positively transform the world. Social media is handy and highly relevant, however, many common flaws are associated with the use of social media, ranging from wasting time to compromisation of privacy. Some of the reasons why social media has harmful effects on today’s youth are: everyday social media lowers a teenagers self confidence, teens today are more focused on social media than their school work, and online predators are all over social media simply looking for their next victim. Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter can cause teens to fall into these negative situations and the social media situation needs to change.

A question the online world is wondering still looms over society like a stormcloud. There is an unsuspected lightning bolt coming down on us that is the consequences of our Internet. What teens and kids are not thinking is that the Internet seems to be hurting us from the inside out, hurting our health, our schooling, and our connections with friends and family. Who are the role models of the Internet, if there are any?

Social Media: good, bad, or ugly? Millennials would say that social media is beneficial, entertaining, and provides valuable information to young adolescents. Some older people love social media, though some would argue that social media has a negative effect on society and is the source of distorted information, miscommunication, and failure in relationships. What happened to one on one conversations with colleagues or activities that included running, going outside, or even just sightseeing? The relationships between people have been disrupted due to social media's negative effect on the idea of a healthy relationship; False expectations, mental health issues, and lack of communication prevent strong relationships to begin and grow.

People no longer stop by a friend’s house and get together around a table for lunch, when they can meet and chat with their friends online all throughout the day. Too often at parties and get-togethers, guests are attached to their smartphones texting, rather than truly interacting with the people around them. People nowadays are opting for online dating applications over face-to-face conversations and meetings. From all these transformations, it is evident that even though social media appear to have eased our lives, it has in fact made it more complex by ruining our ability to have relationships by robbing us of our precious time spent with our loved ones, interpersonal communication skills, and mental well-being.

Social media has led us to have fewer interactions with people in real life. Many people would rather use social media to communicate with their friends than they would in person, mostly because it makes the communication process easier. More people have become antisocial by spending too much time on social media, and studies show that people have less interest in interacting with other people in their age group and other age groups. Social media is not only decreasing the quality of interactions, but it is also drastically changed the amount of relationships that people have in person as well. Most people have a lack of interest in talking to one another while in person, and it’s been proven that 93% of communication is nonverbal. Cornell University did a study that found that people have a hard time distinguishing between meaningful relationships that they build in the real world and the numerous casual relationships built through social networking sites. Also, allowing social media to prevent you from experiencing genuine human experiences such as spending time with your family or spending time outdoors can be very unhealthy.

In this technological age, social media has become a vital part of communication between teenagers. Developing friendships is important for a child’s growth, but researchers are questioning if social medial is impeding communication skills are taking away the ability to communicate in real life. Teens are missing opportunities to witness how words and actions affect others to expose them to feelings such as empathy, as texting and online chatting keeps others at a safe distance. Social media can give us a false sense of belonging and connecting that is not build on real-life social exchanges. This makes it increasingly easy to lose oneself to cyberspace connections and replace these online interactions with the good old face to face

I’ve learned that everything that glitters ain’t gold. In my middle school days I’ve experienced the negative effects of social media, Now when I say social media, I’m referring to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. By me being very active on social media I’ve been taunted, teased, threatened and harassed along with having low- self esteem and some suicidal thoughts . According to a recent study in the JAMA pediatrics, 23% of teens report they are or have been the target of cyberbullying . “A National survey of over 10,000 adolescents showed that 1 in 3 teens met criteria for an anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety, including panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias, afflicts 8.3% of all teens. 5% to 8% of U.S. teens attempt suicide yearly. According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, it states that 92% of teens use their smartphones to access social media daily while 24% say they access it almost constantly”. Even though some people believe social media opens up a large network, social media do have an negative effect on teens because it is one of the main reasons for Poor Academic Performance, It causes teens to have Emotional Implications and Limiting time spent on social media can reduce the chance of being Cyberbullied.

Social media is a term that does not need to be defined, everyone knows what social media is. Even people in the most distant of places have heard, or even use, social networking sites. People today use social networking sites on a regular basis. Today’s society uses sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as a way to stay in touch with current events, family members, and with their friends. According to the Pew Research Center, “seventy-six percent of [today’s society] uses social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, as of July 2015, up from Twenty-six percent in 2008” (Pew Research Center). Since so many people use social networking sites, controversy has risen on whether social networking sites are good or bad for society. Research shows that social networking sites affect society is very negative ways, which include: terrorists’ attacks, identity theft, cyberbullying, online predator attacks, sexting, addictions, and personality and brain disorders. Among the positive effects of social media are; small business success, finding new and old friends, and the spread of breaking news moments after the news happens. Despite social media’s many positive effects, research shows that social media does more damage than good to our society.